Reviews - Julie Chan Is Dead

2.77k reviews for:

Julie Chan Is Dead

Liann Zhang

3.68 AVERAGE

zhurley94's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

dvcrz's review against another edition

4.0

Oh wow, I thought I knew where this was going, but it was way more entertaining and shocking than I expected. It started like a typical chick lit story but then switched gears into a whole different genre. The twist caught me off guard and I loved it. It was also pretty funny at times. The ending was perfect and wrapped things up nicely.

Definitely a fun surprise!

oceanelle's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think I enjoyed this? I mean, the inner look at the world of influencers was compelling, especially knowing the author was a skin care influencer at one point. When I wondered how Julie was going to get out of this mess,

exposing herself through a cult

wasn’t on my bingo sheet, so it was pretty twisty, if jarring. But as serious as the critique on social media and influencer culture felt,

the cult

itself felt so unserious. The villains, even

the aunt

, were comically one-dimensional in their evilness.

Anyway, definitely a book where I couldn’t necessarily predict what was about to happen next and the social critique was compelling, so. Someone else here said they expected more Yellowface and less Mona Awad, and that hits the nail on the head—which is really more a flaw in the book’s marketing than it is in the writing.

katelynnadina's review against another edition

3.75

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jcdunn16's review against another edition

2.5

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

The beginning of this book has all the fun of a summer beach read but when the « Belladonnas » (a group of influencers not subtly named after a famous poison) go to an island, it takes a creepy, dark, and unsettling turn. If the book had omitted the cult horrors (including the graphic description of eating of a live mouse) and remained focused on the main character’s attempts to maintain her sister’s identity, I would have enjoyed it much more. That said, throughout the novel the writing is gripping and I can foresee a Netflix adaptation of this book at some point in the near future.

Content Warnings